Portable electronic devices provide users with an ever-increasing array of features and capabilities. For example, wireless telephones, personal digital assistants, smart phones, pocket computers and similar devices allow users to manage data, make phone calls and send or receive text or email messages.
Additionally, many portable electronic devices can provide a wireless connection to the Internet. This connection may be provided, for example, through a wireless or wi-fi hot-spot or through a network of transceiver stations disposed throughout a service area, such as a mobile telephone network. Many different systems and protocols can be used to wirelessly connect a portable electronic device to the Internet or other computer network through the system of a wireless service provider.
With access to the Internet or other service provide computer network, portable electronic devices are increasingly able to provide access to a wide variety of audio and audiovisual media content. For example, using a portable electronic device, a user may be able to download or stream audio or audiovisual content such as songs, news footage, video clips, music videos, movies, television programs, etc. Any audio, visual or audiovisual content can be downloaded or streamed to these portable electronic devices.
This access to an unlimited variety of content through portable electronic devices is particularly helpful for users because the content can be accessed and enjoyed from any location within the wireless service area that supports the portable electronic device. Consequently, the user can access desired audio or audiovisual content when away from home or office, for example, when traveling, waiting for an appointment, doing errands, etc.
However, portable electronic devices are, by their nature, compact in size so as to be easily carried on the user's person. As a result, the display device on a portable electronic device is typically quite small, which may effect the user's ability or desire to watch streamed video content on the portable electronic device.
Additionally, when listening to audio using a portable electronic device, the user must typically wear earphones or headphones. This prevents those near the user from having to listen to the audio being enjoyed by the user. Additionally, ear or headphones conserve the limited power in a portable electronic device as compared to the power that would be required to operate larger speakers if the user were not wearing headphones.
Watching a relatively tiny display device and/or using an earpiece or headphones may be satisfactory to enable portability. However, the user may sometimes be in the process of viewing and/or listening to content on the portable electronic device when the user arrives at his or her home or office or some other place where the user could access a device with a larger, higher density display, higher quality speakers, or other enhanced features for playback of the audiovisual content.
In such a case, the user typically must finish watching the desired content on the relatively inconvenient, small display of the portable electronic device or discontinue watching the desired content on the portable device and then activate another device, such as a computer or set-top box, and restart, most likely at addition cost, the download or stream of the desired content to the new device which provides the advantage of a larger screen, speakers and/or enhanced user interface.
Clearly, it is inconvenient to discontinue viewing content on a portable device and re-access the content on another device, at additional cost. While the second device may provide a larger screen or other features that make it easier to enjoy the content, the user will waste time transitioning between devices. Additionally, the user may have to start again at the beginning of the program or content, even though a substantial portion has already been experienced on the portable device.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.